Yellowfang's Secret
by Sparrowclaw of ThunderClan
Summary: What is hidden inside the very depths of our favorite medicine cat's heart? What are the details on her feelings for Raggedstar, and Brokenstar? What was going on inside her head when she was just an innocent, regretless kit? My version of upcoming special edition Yellowfang's Secret. Continued from sneak peak found in Enter the Clans.
1. Allegiances and Chapter Two

**In a new** **handbook called _Enter the Clans _(which is just _Code of the Clans _and the _Warriors Field Guide _put together), it includes the prologue and first chapter of the upcoming special edition called _Yellowfang's Secret_. I really wanted to write my own version of this before it came out, so I decided to just continue on with chapter two.**

**I do not have to rights to release the sneak peak, so you'll just have to live with the info I give you in chapter two. I hope you like this! Go Yellowfang!**

* * *

**ShadowClan**

Leader: Cedarstar – very dark gray tom with white underbelly

Deputy: Stonetooth – gray tabby tom with long teeth

Medicine Cat: Sagewhisker – white she-cat with long whiskers

Warriors:

Burnwhisker – pale ginger tom

Crowtail – black tabby she-cat  
_Apprentice: Hollypaw_

Speckledfur – pretty tortoiseshell she-cat  
_Apprentice: Ashpaw_

Brackenfoot – pale ginger tom with dark ginger legs

Archeye – gray tabby tom with black stripes and think stripe over eye

Sunlight – handsome golden tabby tom

Rainpelt – gray tom with black speckles

Swallow-wing – black tom with gray speckles  
_Apprentice: Mudpaw_

Littlefoot – small tabby she-cat with white paws

Morningpelt – gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Queens:

Featherstorm – brown tabby she-cat; mother of an unknown tom's kits: Raggedkit – large dark brown tabby tom; Scorchkit – black tom

Poolcloud – gray and white she-cat; mother of Archeye's kits: Cloudkit – white tom; Nightkit – black tom

Brightflower – orange tabby she-cat; mother of Brackenfoot's kits: Yellowkit – gray she-cat with broad, flattened face; Rowankit – ginger she-cat; Nutkit – light brown tom

Apprentices:

Hollypaw – dark gray and white she-cat

Ashpaw – thin gray tom

Mudpaw – brown tom

Elders:

Silverflame – silver she-cat

Littlebird – little ginger she-cat

Mistfang – skinny brown tom

Lizardfang - light brown tabby tom with one hooked tooth

**ThunderClan**

Leader: Pinestar – red-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Sunfall – bright ginger tom with yellow eyes

Medicine Cat: Gooseberry – speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes  
_Apprentice: Featherpaw_

Warriors:

Stonepelt – gray tom

Stormtail – blue-gray tom with blue eyes

_Apprentice: Thrushpaw_

Tawnyspots – light gray tom with amber eyes

Adderfang – mottled brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Moonflower – silver-gray she-cat with pale yellow eyes

_Apprentice: Robinpaw_

Sparrowpelt – big, dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_Apprentice: Fuzzypaw_

Smallear – gray tom with very small ears and amber eyes

_Apprentice: Specklepaw_

Windflight – gray tabby tom with pale green eyes

Queens:

Larksong – tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes; mother of Mumblefoot's kits: Dapplekit – pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with lovely dappled coat; Whitekit – white she-cat with one clouded eye

Swiftbreeze – tabby and white she-cat with yellow eyes; carrying Adderfang's kits

Poppydawn – long-haired, dark red she-cat a bushy tail and amber eyes

Apprentices:

Featherpaw – gray tom with feathery whiskers

Thrushpaw – sandy-gray tom with white flash on his chest and green eyes

Robinpaw – small, energetic brown she-cat with ginger patch on her chest and amber eyes

Fuzzypaw – black tom with fur that stands on end and yellow eyes

Specklepaw – pale tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Elders:

Weedwhisker – pale orange tom with yellow eyes

Mumblefoot – brown tom, slightly clumsy, with amber eyes

**RiverClan**

Leader: Hailstar – thick-pelted gray tom

Deputy: Shellheart – dappled gray tom

Medicine Cat: Troutfin – black tom with silver and white speckles  
_Apprentice: Bramblepaw_

Warriors:

Rippleclaw – black and silver tabby tom

Timberfur – brown tom

Mudfur – long-haired light brown tom  
_Apprentice: Pikepaw_

Owlfur – brown and white tom  
_Apprentice: Shimmerpaw_

Ottersplash – white and and pale ginger she-cat

Lilystem – gray she-cat

Rainflower – pale gray she-cat

Brightsky – nimble white and ginger she-cat

Queens:

Echomist – long-haired she-cat, fur tipped with white to give her a soft, cloudy appearance; mother of Hailstar's kits: Volekit; Beetlekit; Petalkit

Fallowtail – light brown she-cat with blue eyes and soft fur; carrying an unknown tom's kits

Lakeshine – pretty, long-haired, gray and white she-cat, mother of Owlfur's kits: Softkit – small, lithe white she-cat with tabby patches; Whitepaw – pure white tom with tabby-stripes tail and brown paws

Apprentices:

Bramblepaw – pretty white she-cat with black-spotted fur, blue eyes, and a strikingly pink nose

Pikepaw – skinny brown tabby tom with a narrow face and protruding canine teeth

Shimmerpaw – night-black she-cat with glossy pelt

Elders:

Troutclaw – gray tabby tom

Tanglewhisker – long-haired tabby tom with thick, knotted pelt

Birdsong – tabby and white she-cat with ginger patches around her muzzle, flecked with gray

**WindClan**

Leader: Shootingstar – long-haired yellow-cream tom with hard amber eyes

Deputy: Heatherpelt – pinkish-gray she-cat with blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Hawkheart - mottled dark brown tom with yellow eyes

Warriors:

Frostmist – black and gray tabby tom

Deershine – dark brown tabby and white she-cat

Grassfur – pale gray tom

Mintdawn – pale gray she-cat  
_Apprentice: Reedpaw_

Firepelt – ginger tom

Redclaw – dark ginger tom

Hawkheart – dark brown tom with yellow eyes

Dawnstripe – pale golden tabby with creamy stripes

Queens:

Flickerheart – dappled brown tabby she-cat; mother of Frostmist's kits: Tallkit – black and white tom with very long tail; Shrewkit – brown tabby tom

Cindersong – dark gray she-cat with white paws

Apprentices:

Reedpaw – light brown tabby tom

Elders:

Squirrelwhisker – pale ginger tom

Whiteberry – small pure white tom

* * *

A young gray kit with bright orange eyes pounced ungracefully on a leaf as the muggy air grew lighter. Her littermates came rushing from the nursery in a flurry of pale brown and ginger fur. The leaf went swirling out of the ShadowClan camp as the three kits landed in a heap in the mud.

"Get off, mouse-brain!" Yellowkit squealed as she squeezed out from underneath Nutkit. Rowankit sat up and began to groom the sticky black mud out of her russet fur.

The kits' mother stomped out of the nursery. With one look at mud-coated kits, Brightflower exploded. "Oh, look at what you've done with yourselves!" she hissed, picking a wriggling Nutkit up in jaws and carrying him back into the den. Yellowkit and Rowankit bounded after them.

Yellowkit slipped into the nursery just in time to see the dark gray leader mount on the boulder above his den. "Cats of ShadowClan, gather to hear what I have to say!" he yowled. ShadowClan cats left their business to go and listen to Cedarstar.

"Scorchkit and Raggedkit have reached the age of six moons, and are ready to begin their training!" he said. A dark brown tabby kit and a black kit came padding up to the front of the crowd, pelt sleek after a long grooming from their mother, Featherstorm, who trailed a few tail-lengths behind them.

Yellowkit remembered the encounter with Raggedkit and Scorchkit the other day. They hadn't spoken since. Yellowkit wished that Nutkit hadn't called them kittypets. Her brother had been bragging that he wasn't afraid to call them what they were, and Yellowkit was certain that Featherstorm had overheard their disscussion.

It was rumored that Featherstorm's mate was a kittypet, because she often strayed into the Twolegplace, but it was never something someone would say to her face.

"Scorchkit, Raggedkit, in the name of StarClan I give you your apprentice names. You shall be known as Scorchpaw and Raggedpaw until you receive your warrior names," Cedarstar said, his deep voice booming in his throat.

Yellowkit watched as Raggedpaw mouthed his new name and closed his eyes in relish. Jelousy stabbed into her. _How come they get be a apprentices and I don't? _she thought angrily, though she knew the answer. She was only two moons old, and they were already six, as Cedarstar had earlier stated.

"Archeye, it is time you had an apprentice of your own. You will mentor Scorchpaw. You were mentored wonderfully by Stonetooth, and I hope you can pass on the skills you learned from him to your new apprentice," Cedarstar said. He then diverted his gaze to Yellowkit's own father, Brackenfoot.

"Brackenfoot, you were trained by Mistfang, and have already succeeded in training Featherstorm to be a skillful, loyal warrior," Cedarstar began, gaze sweeping across his canmates, as if daring them to object.

_Skillful, maybe, but loyal? _Yellowkit thought. Featherstorm might've had a kittypet as a mate! Was that loyal? Not that Brackenfoot's training had anything to do with it.

"I know you can shape Raggedpaw into a great new addition to our clan!" he said, concluding the meeting. ShadowClan hailed the apprentices by their new names. Yellowkit failed to join in. There was no reason to celebrate the training of a _kittypet_!

Raggedpaw and Scorchpaw, and their mentors exited the clearing, tails waving happily. Yellowkit sighed, even more jealous than before. It was so unfair that Raggedpaw and Scorchpaw got to train before she did! It took so long!

Training to be a warrior was everything Yellowkit had ever wanted. She would be able to help her clan in every way! What could be better than that? The fact that _kittypets _got to do it before she did was killing her.

A sharp pain rose in her tail, and Yellowkit whipped around to see that Rowankit had sank her teeth into her flesh. "Hey!" she growled.

"Let's play apprentice ceremony!" Nutkit suggested. Nutkit was always being bossy, but he had kind of adopted the position of leader of the trio.

"Alright," Yellowkit said. "I'll be Cedarstar!" she announced. Rowankit flicked her with her tail.

"No, I want to be Cedarstar!" she whined. Yellowkit crouched and gathered her haunches, her tail waving like a little gray flag behind her. She propelled herself forward with a strong pounce and landed squarely on her sister's shoulders. The pair went rolling into the mud again.

"Hey!" Nutkit squeaked, leaping in after them. "Are we playing or not?"

Yellowkit dragged herself up out of the mud puddle and glared out Rowankit. "But I want to be the leader!"

"Neither of you can be Cedarstar because you're both she-cats!" Nutkit sneered. Yellowkit mock-growled and swatted him with her forepaw, the way she had seen Ashpaw and Mudpaw fighting.

Brightflower had been distracted, but now turned her attention back to her muddy, tussling kits. Her orange eyes flamed as she nudged the dirty trio away from the puddle and began a thorough wash.

When Yellowkit's pelt shimmered in the sunlight once again, she scampered into the nursery to see what was going on in there. Nightkit and Cloudkit were pawing a piece of moss back and forth while their mother, a pretty gray and white she-cat named Poolcloud, was sunning herself in the far corner.

"Hi, guys!" she squealed as she weaved her way around the nests. Cloudkit turned just as Nightkit passed the moss-ball to him, and it landed on his head and got caught on his ear.

"You look silly, moss-ear!" Nightkit said with a purr of amusement. Cloudkit hooked the moss on a claw and whipped it back at his brother, who caught it nicely in his jaws.

Nutkit and Rowankit squeezed into the nursery after Yellowkit, and immediately joined in with the game. Nightkit tossed the moss to Rowankit, who didn't catch it, but retrieved it quickly and flicked it over Nutkit's head and into Yellowkit's outstretched paws. She hit it toward Cloudkit, who passed it to Nutkit, who passed to Nightkit, who repeated the game.

Yellowkit found herself bored with the simple maneuvers and wandered over to lie beside Poolcloud. How could she survive another four moons of nothing but moss-ball and tail-chase and pretend WindClan attacks? She was restless to get out into the marshes and hunt toads, and defeat _real _WindClan warriors in border skirmishes.

_Raggedpaw_ and _Scorchpaw_ got to do that already! And they were kittypets! Kittypets! Yellowkit sighed, and rolled over onto her back, so that she faced the sky. It was near sun-high, and the warm golden rays washed over her as she stared up at the blue ceiling of the world.

"Poolcloud? Why is the sky blue in the day, and black in the night?" she asked. Poolcloud yawned and lifted her head, amber eyes glistening.

"I think it's because the sky has water in it, like the stream, which is blue. At night, the moon isn't very bright, so the sky appears dark. But in the daytime, the bright sun blocks out the star shine and lights up the blue water in the sky. But overall, I don't really know why the sky appears to be blue," she explained.

Yellowkit wondered if Poolcloud was right, and that there was water in the sky. She wondered if the birds that flew up there sometimes got their feet wet in the water. She suddenly wished she could fly, too, so that she could fly up and touch the blue sky.

_Maybe it's a meadow up there, covered in blue heather, _she thought. _Or maybe it's the blue eyes of a very big cat! _She thought that one day she might try to climb a pine tree and see if she could reach the sky.

A fluffy white cloud was drifting across the sky on a high-elevated wind. It roughly resembled a cat, with herbs in its mouth. It reminded Yellowkit of Sagewhisker, the ShadowClan medicine cat. She got up and padded over to Rowankit, who now that the game was over was occupying herself by watching a black beetle crawl up the nursery wall.

"Rowankit," she began. Her sister turned her head. "Do you want to be a warrior?" Yellowkit asked. Rowankit nodded.

"Of course! What else could you be?" she mewed, cocking her head curiously.

"Well, you could be a medicine cat apprentice. Sagewhisker doesn't have one yet," Yellowkit reminded her.

"And be stuck in a fowl-smelling den all day?" Nutkit interjected. He wrinkled his small pink nose. "No fun! No fun at all!"

Yellowkit had to agree with him. She would much rather do battle training than try to memorize all the herbs in the forest. But it would be a great way to help her clan... Wasn't that what she wanted more than anything?

_But I can help my clan more when I'm a warrior, _she thought to herself. _Sagewhisker can manage by herself._

Cloudkit had found a large brown spider with spindly legs and lots of eyes. "Hey, guys! Come look at this!" he said, gesturing for them to come and look at his discovery.

Yellowkit excitedly bounded over, pushing the thoughts of medicine cats and herbs from her mind.


	2. Chapter Three

**Hey, guys! Sparrow here! This is the second chapter of this story. I think it turned out well, and I love the closing sentence. Wait, don't read it yet! Start at the beginning. Thank you to my three reviewers! I got three reviews, on the first chapter! You guys are awesome!**

**Review Answers:**

**DahliaStarr: Thank you! I hope you can read the prologue/first chapter of it; they're better than my chapters. I hope I updated soon enough, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**dudanni5: Yes, I know about the upcoming special edition. This is my version of it! Thank you for your undeserved praise!**

**Guest: Thank you so much! I hope I updated soon enough for you! Do you have an account?**

* * *

The sun was just coming up as Raggedpaw entered the camp after dawn patrol. He had a lizard tucked into his jaws, and Brackenfoot was carrying a sparrow also caught by him.

Yellowkit hissed at the sight of them. She absolutely hated everything about Raggedpaw. He was always so mean, and was such a big show-off. He bragged about being best in battle training to anyone who would listen, and always caught more prey than the other apprentices.

Cloudkit and Nutkit were kicking dust into her face as they copied the neat, intricate battle moves ungracefully. Hollypaw was showing them the belly-rake, and they weren't doing so well.

Raggedpaw dropped his fresh-kill on the pile and turned to glower at Yellowkit. "What are you staring at, kit?" he snarled.

The way he said _kit _was so full of scorn and taunting that Yellowkit unsheathed her claws and battered the brown tabby tom's face. Raggedpaw hissed and struck her on the head. Yellowkit mewled pitifully in pain.

"Ow!" she wailed. "Mother! Raggedpaw _hit _me!" Brightflower appeared from out of the nursery, and scooped Yellowkit up in her jaws.

"Now, you stop pestering the apprentices, young she-cat!" Brackenfoot said. A smirk spread across Raggedpaw's face as Brightflower dragged her back into the nursery. He _always _got his way! It wasn't fair!

"Mother! Put me down!" she whined. Brightflower set her down in their nest and began to lick to dust out of her gray fur. "Mother! Stop!"

Brightflower paused her grooming to cuff Yellowkit over the ears. "Now you quit that, Yellowkit! You and Raggedpaw are always fighting about this or that. I saw you claw him on the nose! What's gotten into you?"

Yellowkit just scowled and crouched while Brightflower finished cleaning her. It was so unfair! Everything was unfair!

_I'm going to run away! See how they feel then! _she thought, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

"Alright, now, go play," Brightflower mewed. "Don't get into more trouble!"

Yellowkit didn't reply. Trouble was exactly what she was going to get into.

Cloudkit and Nutkit were squirming in a tight knot, and Hollypaw was desperately trying to get them apart. She tugged at Cloudkit's tail, and tried to unhook Nutkit's teeth from his fur, but didn't succeed. Yellowkit padded up and nipped Nutkit on one of his hind paws. He let his grasp on Cloudkit loosen as he yelped, and the white tom slipped free.

"Thanks, Yellowkit!" Hollypaw said, dipping her head. Yellowkit laughed.

She gestured to Nutkit and Cloudkit. "I need to talk to you two," she whispered, and they both excused themselves from Hollypaw's lesson and slunk over to where she was.

"What is it, Yellowkit?" Cloudkit asked.

"I have a plan," Yellowkit told him. "Remember the path we found behind the ferns by the elder's den?" she asked. Both toms nodded. "We can use that to slip out of camp unnoticed. If someone saw us, they'd think we were visiting the elders!" she said.

"That's a great idea, Yellowkit!" Nutkit squeaked quietly. "It's fool-proof!" Cloudkit purred in agreement.

"I think it'll work. Should we ask Rowankit and Nightkit to come with us?" he asked. Yellowkit thought for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No. The more of us there is, the more likely it is for someone to hear us," she said. "And Rowankit might tell on us," she added.

"You're right about that," Nutkit mewed. "She's such a tattle-tale!"

"Let's go quickly, before someone asks us what we're up to," Cloudkit suggested. The three of them looked at their paws, and they padded past the fresh-kill pile.

"Where do you think _you're _going, kits?" Burnwhisker drawled. Yellowkit shuffled her paws self-consciously.

"We-we're going to the elder's den to hear a story," she said, not meeting his gaze. Burnwhisker shook his head.

"Oh, no you aren't. Silverflame has caught a death of a cold. Young ones like you need to stay away," he objected. Yellowkit scowled as their plan was ruined.

"Now what?" she asked. Cloudkit bit his lip.

"Well... I guess we could pretend to be going to the medicine cat den. It's close to the elder's den," he suggested.

"Let's try it," Nutkit agreed. He turned to Burnwhisker. "I have a bellyache. Let's go to Sagewhisker's den," he said, making sure it was loud enough for the pale ginger warrior to hear.

With Nutkit in the lead, he, Cloudkit, and Yellowkit made their way through the lunching warriors and apprentices, trying and failing to remain unnoticed.

"Cloudkit, what are you doing?" Archeye asked as he padded from inside the apprentice's den with Scorchpaw.

"Oh, Father! I'm-uh... I'm escorting Nutkit to the medicine cat den. He... er, he has a bellyache," he lied. Archeye narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you _and _Yellowkit escorting him?" he asked, his amber eyes traveling from his son to Yellowkit. Her pelt grew hot with embarrassment, and she looked at the ground.

"She's... she's his sister! She's worried about him!" Cloudkit said quickly, pulling a grin to try and hide the doubt clouding his expression.

Archeye growled deep in his throat, but dipped his head. Yellowkit held in a sigh of relief, and padded after her littermate and denmate.

They veered off the straight course to the secret exit so that they were in front of the medicine den, and then swerved quickly behind the brambles that protected the nests inside. A thick row of ferns walled them in, so they followed the barrier until they came to a thinner group nearer to the elder's den.

Cloudkit looked back at Nutkit and Yellowkit, and then nosed a frond out of the way. A narrow path was revealed, winding behind a hazel bush so that its destination was hidden from view. Yellowkit gulped as she observed the dark shadows slinking along the edge of the path.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Go on!" Nutkit sneered. Yellowkit saw Cloudkit bite his lip nervously, but boldly put one white paw on the muddy path. Though he was light, it sank into the soft earth with a _squish_. Yellowkit wrinkled her nose.

_Will we have to wade through mud all along the path? _she thought.

Cloudkit took another paw-step, and then another, until he was all the onto the path. Nutkit didn't hesitate to follow him. Yellowkit was more cautious, but she bravely stepped onto the path. She was lighter than either of the toms, so her dainty paws barely sank, but she still found it hard to walk with the _squish _sound that erupted from her every footstep.

Cloudkit lead the way as they explored through the brambles and shrubbery. The mud soon gave way to solid, rocky ground, to Yellowkit's relief. Their feet hit the ground silently as they went.

"Look at that!" Nutkit suddenly squeaked. He pointed with his tail to a fenced-in area bordered by what looked like spider silk woven together. Yellowkit touched it with her nose. The woven barrier was made out of hard, shiny sticks that curled around each other, intertwining evenly to form an impenetrable blockage.

"What _is _it?" Cloudkit asked in awe, eyes wide. Yellowkit's eyes drifted beyond the mesh fence. A disgusting scent writhed in the air from a pile of what looked like rotting Twoleg food. She spotted a fruit of some sort filled with worms, and a dead rat with white maggots squirming through every opening.

"I-I think this is the carrionplace," Yellowkit said thoughtfully. "I remember a story Mistfang told me about it. He said that when he was an apprentice, he hunted a rat there, and got really sick."

"Ew!" Nutkit exclaimed, putting a paw over his nose. "Look at that!"

A raven was pecking at the bloody remains of what looked like a songbird. Yellowkit gagged; the revolting sight was too much.

"I don't like this place," she whispered, bristling. "Let's get out of here!" she said loudly.

Just then, a huge rat wriggled out from under a shiny Twoleg thing. Its red eyes glittered menacingly as he spotted the three kits. It began to crawl toward them, squeaking. Yellowkit let out a cry of fear as more, smaller rats, joined them. They would be easy to take on for a grown warrior, and not much of a challenge for an apprentice, but a kit...

One of the smaller rats darted rapidly away from the group, and leaped at Cloudkit. The small white tom kit screeched in terror and tried to shake the rat off as it sank its teeth into his shoulder.

Another rat edged closer to Nutkit, who extended his claws threateningly. The rat took no notice and latched onto Yellowkit's brother's tail. He howled in pain and ran in the direction of camp.

"Nutkit!" Yellowkit cried, but he couldn't hear her over the growing noise of the rats. One was immediately on her back, nipping at her legs. She shook vigoriously as she called desperately for help.

Cloudkit was now covered in rats, clawing and biting at whichever he could. Yellowkit couldn't see Nutkit anywhere. The biggest rat was now right in front of her. It opened it's triangular jaws to reveal two rows of yellow teeth, and exhaled breath worse than a dogs. It snapped its mouth closed just as Yellowkit dodged it. Three rats were now on her, and she could see her own blood trickling onto the ground.

"Yellowkit!" Cloudkit cried. Yellowkit couldn't see his white pelt under a mass of rats. The huge leader of the rats was snapping at her, and she could barely get out of the way as he aimed her neck.

Pain exploded in one her hind legs. One rat had torn out a chunk of her gray fur, bringing flesh with it. Blood oozed from the gash, and she could barely breath through the stench of rats and rotting food and blood.

In a brown tabby flash, something careened into the largest and rat and sank its pure white fangs into its neck. The rat went limp instantly.

The weight on her back lifted as someone was unhooking rats from her pelt. Yellowkit's vision was going blurry, but she strained to see Cloudkit and Nutkit. Cloudkit's white pelt was now crimson with blood, and Nutkit was nowhere in sight.

Yellowkit began to feel dizzy, but resisted the urge to lie down. "Nutkit!" she yowled. "Nutkit, where are you?"

Someone was saying, "Yellowkit, calm down. You're okay, Yellowkit!" Yellowkit tried to see who was speaking, but everything was hazy now. All she could see were a pair of warm amber eyes. They were so comforting.

"Nutkit..." she breathed. "Nutkit. I need Nutkit..."

The amber eyes were fading, the light was darkening, and Yellowkit's paws gave way. She found herself sprawled on her belly just a second before the amber eyes disappeared completely, and everything went black.

* * *

Yellowkit's orange eyes blinked open. She was utterly confused. Where had all the stench of rat, blood, and carrion gone? Now she was in a den that smelled of freshly crushed herbs and moss. She turned her head, feeling the bracken of a soft nest brush against her. In the nest neighboring hers, Cloudkit lay, his body moving ever so slightly as he slept. And in the nest after that, to Yellowkit's joy, was Nutkit, covered in cobwebs so that you could barely distinguish his fur as brown.

Cloudkit was covered in herbs and cobwebs too, and as Yellowkit looked at her own body, she found that she, also, was patched up with poultices and spider silk. The spider silk brought back terrifying memories of the fence... and the rats...

How had she gotten here? How had they escaped the rats and been returned back to camp? Sagewhisker entered the medicine den, her green eyes sparkling with triumph when she saw that Yellowkit was awake.

"Ah, I'm glad you're conscious once more! You're just in time to eat!" she said with a purr, and gestured to Hollypaw, who carried two lizards in her mouth. Yellowkit's stomach rumbled at the tempting aroma of fresh-kill. As Hollypaw set a piece of prey down beside her, she greedily sank her fangs into the lizard's tender scale-guarded flesh.

"Thank you," she mewed, her voice muffled by half-chewed lizard. Hollypaw dipped her head to her, and padded out after giving the second lizard to Sagewhisker.

The white she-cat sat down, and after she had lapped up a bite, she began the first expected lecture that Yellowkit was to receive that day. "Yellowkit, it was very foolish of you to go out on your own! What if Brackenfoot and his patrol hadn't found you? Raggedpaw killed three rats while trying to save you!"

_Raggedpaw! _Yellowkit thought, boiling resentment building quickly inside of her. _The amber eyes! They must have been his._

"Now, I don't blame you completely. Nutkit and Cloudkit are going to hear this too. But whatever made you think it was appropriate to leave camp at all? You're a kit!" she mewed, her voice raising dramatically as if she was astonished.

_I am aware that I am a kit, _Yellowkit thought angrily. _But I never get to do anything at all!_

Sagewhisker went on. "Now, don't get me started on going to the carrionplace! That's the worst place you could ever go! You could get carried off or killed by a Twoleg, or a raven, or a rat, of course!" she said, listing things Yellowkit knew.

The pebbles at the entrance to the den rattled as a newcomer entered. Yellowkit hissed as she recognized the scent, even before she turned around. His brown tabby pelt gleamed; he had clearly washed just before.

_Why would he do that? _Yellowkit wondered. But she soon pushed the thought away as Raggedpaw directed a sly grin at her.

"I just overheard Cedarstar and Brackenfoot talking together," he told her, eyes narrowed with pleasure. "They said that they were going to delay your training by one moon."

Yellowkit growled, baring her teeth. "Get lost, you mouse-brain!" she snarled. Raggedpaw's smile disappeared, and he just glared at her, and then left.

"You should be nicer to him," Sagewhisker said quietly. "He saved your life!"

Yellowkit rolled her eyes, and took another bite of her lizard, irritated. Each day brought a new reason to hate Raggedpaw more. She stared resentfully at the den entrance, wishing pebbles he had stepped on were sharp as fox's teeth.


	3. Chapter Four

**I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes; it's late and I wanted to put the chapter up tonight. This is the third (or fourth) chapter. Sorry, I can't answer the reviews of the lovely reviewers right now! I hope you enjoy this chapter, though it might be full of typos at the moment.**

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The breeze sent leaves spiraling up into the air as Yellowkit shifted on her paws outside of the medicine den. She could hear her brother's faint grunts of pain that he tried so hard to hide as he padded, wincing, supported by Sagewhisker.

_He can't possibly become an apprentice today! _Yellowkit thought drearily. He could barely walk!

After moons and moons of waiting, moons and moons of boring elder's tales, moons and moons of staring at the camp entrance longingly, the day was finally here. At least, it was for her.

Rowanpaw had become an apprentice a moon earlier, having not received Yellowkit, Cloudkit, and Nutkit's punishment for their little adventure. Nightpaw had also become an apprentice, about a quarter-moon before. Cloudkit still had three quarters to wait before he could join them.

Yellowkit and Cloudkit had healed up quickly, leaving the medicine den a half moon later with only warnings to keep their half-healed wounds clean and not play too much. The wounds had healed fully within the next few sunrises.

Nutkit had lost more blood than either of them, and spent a lot of time sleeping. When he had finally mostly recovered, one of his wounds had reopened, and got infected badly. The infection was so severe that he had had to spend three moons in the medicine den, and had to return daily for herbs, because a cold was going around camp, and his immune system still had to build up.

Now here he was, four moons after the incident, and yet, still he stumbled and had to walk very slowly. His right side was still covered in herbs, and a frament of a leaf he had chewed clung to his muzzle. His fur was untidy, and he looked exhausted. How would he be able to tour the territory, and learn the hunting crouch and the belly-rake in this state?

But Nutkit had a determined look in his eyes that Yellowkit knew well. Her brother wouldn't give up. Cedarstar was already atop the boulder, and cats had already began to gather below him. Yellowkit's stomach fluttered. _I'm going to be an apprentice!_

Her gray pelt was slicked down from a good wash from Brightflower, and her orange eyes were bright with anticipation. She held her chin high as she padded confidently up to the base of the great stone, and looked up into Cedarstar's eyes.

She could feel Brackenfoot's green eyes upon her, and beamed. She spotted another pair of eyes looking at her, these ones glaring. _Amber eyes. Raggedpaw!_

The brown tabby tom was glowering at her from the back of the gathered crowd, his brother Scorchpaw sitting beside him.

Cedarstar signaled for silence, and Yellowkit glanced at Nutkit struggling up to be level with her. Yellowkit saw doubt flash in the dark gray leader's expression, but it faded quickly as he opened his mouth. "We have gathered to hear two kits receive their apprentice names. Yellowkit," he said, looking down at her. "And Nutkit are ready to begin their training as warriors."

Out of the corner of her eye, Yellowkit thought she saw Raggedpaw turn and whisper something into Scorchpaw's ear. She could imagine what he might be saying as Scorchpaw laughed, and displayed a toothy grin.

"Yellowkit, Nutkit, from this day on until you receive your warrior names, you shall be known as Yellowpaw and Nutpaw," he said. Yellowpaw felt a pleasant shiver run down her spine.

_Yellowpaw! _she thought. _I'm an apprentice! I'm Yellowpaw!_

"Sunlight, it is time you had an apprentice. You were mentored wonderfully by Briarclaw, and I'm sure he'd be proud to see you today. You will mentor Yellowpaw," Cedarstar said. Yellowpaw turned to look at the handsome golden tabby tom who dipped his head to Cedarstar. She felt her skin grow hot.

_He is very handsome, _she thought, but then regained her composure. _No way! You won't see me tripping over my paws for any tom!_

"Morningpelt, you are young, but you were well-trained by Crowtail. I know you can pass on the skills you learned from her to this new apprentice," Cedarstar said.

The gray tabby she-cat nodded to her clan leader, her expression unreadable as her amber eyes darted to her trembling, pale brown apprentice.

Yellowpaw wondered what was going on in her mind. Was she annoyed at having been given this weak, mewling apprentice? Or was she personally offended? Or was she just excited at having a young cat to train? She gave no hint to what her emotions were.

"I have one last ceremony to perform today," Cedarstar said, much to everyone's surprise. Yellowpaw cocked her head curiously. "Ashpaw, Mudpaw, come forward."

The brown tom and gray tom both looked astonished, but managed to walk up to the front. Cedarstar looked at their mentors. "Speckledfur, Swallow-wing, are they ready to become warriors?" he asked.

"Ashpaw is more than ready. He will be a great addition to the clan," Speckledfur purred with pride.

"Mudpaw is ready also," Swallow-wing stated simply, but his eyes glowed.

"By the power of StarClan, I ask my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Ashpaw, Mudpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Ashfur and Mudclaw!" Cedarstar yowled.

"Yellowpaw! Nutpaw! Ashfur! Mudclaw!" the clan chorused. Yellowpaw called out the names of the new warriors, but not on her and her brother's names. That was for others to call. As they repeated the names, Yellowpaw was perplexed to see that Raggedpaw had joined in on her name.

She stared in shock as Raggedpaw yowled, "Yellowpaw! Nutpaw!" with the clan.

"Now that Ashfur's training is finished, it's time that I move to the nursery!" Speckledfur announced. Mews of congratulations rang out from the clan. Burnwhisker purred the loudest and ran his tail along Speckledfur's spine. Yellowpaw guessed that he was the father. It was strange for him to take a mate so late, especially a she-cat so young.

Sunlight's mew rumbled into Yellowpaw's ears, breaking her away from her thoughts. "Come, Yellowpaw. We're going to tour the territory," he told her with a smile on his face.

"Are Morningpelt and Nutpaw coming?" Yellowpaw asked. Sunlight looked over at gray tabby she-cat, who was leading Nutpaw over toward the apprentices den.

"No, I don't think so. It looks like Morningpelt has another plan," he said, and then began toward the camp entrance. Yellowpaw was at first disappointed, but then her heart began to pound at the thought of being alone with the handsome golden tabby.

Though inwardly she denied that was reason she was excited, it was evident as she padded after her mentor with a mooning, dreamy expression on her face.

Yellowpaw held her breath as she walked through the brambles that guarded the camp. She had never been out of camp! Well, not when she was allowed to be, at least. And she had only been to the carrionplace, not in the part of the territory she would be hunting in.

She looked out across the marshes as Sunlight led her over a hill. The ground was damp and soft, and in some areas her paws sank all the way down into the mud. But it felt like home. She felt at ease in the marshes.

After a few minutes of walking, Sunlight paused at a line of pine trees. "This is the pine forest part of our territory. You see the tallest tree? That's the Dead Pine. It was struck by lightning, but still stands. It is a good home for songbirds, which are a good source of prey. In the pines, you'll also hunt squirrels and mice," he explained.

Yellowpaw stared up in awe at the great, towering shadowy trees. They were silhouetted against the orange sky, as the sun was beginning to set.

An orange bird soared down from the crown of a pine to snatch of a worm. The worm wriggled away just in time, and bird continued to peck at the soil in search of food. Yellowpaw instinctively lowered her body into a crouch, and began to edge forward.

"Keep your tail still," Sunlight whispered. Yellowpaw did as she was told, keeping her tail stock-still just above the ground. "Try to balance your weight evenly."

Yellowpaw attempted to do this, but ended up falling on her side. The little orange bird's head snapped up, and at the sight of the two hunters, it flitted upward on terrified wings. Sunlight's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"It was your first try; don't worry. You'll get better," he said with a smile. Yellowpaw looked down a her paws.

"Can I try again?" she asked hopefully. To her dismay, her golden mentor shook his head.

"Later," he said. "But first, I need to finish showing you around the territory."

Yellowpaw and Sunlight left the pine forest and the orange bird behind them as they headed north. Sunlight gestured with his tail to one path that led into a dark bramble thicket.

"That leads to the carrionplace; you know that you're not aloud there for three moons when your an apprentice," he said seriously. Yellowpaw's eartips burned, and she looked away.

_He talking about my "adventure", _she realized, embarrassed. They went on, deeper into the marshes. The trees here were gnarled and twisted, with vines that resembled snakes hanging down from their branching limbs. The ground became muckier and muddier until it became almost impossible to walk.

"This is the deepest, darkest part of the marsh. It isn't a good idea to much further; you'd sink all the way into the mud!" Sunlight joked. Yellowpaw stared into green water of the marsh pond, watching water beetles skid across the surface, and mosquitoes flit mouse-lengths from the water. She imagined sinking into the depths of the water, and shuddered.

Sunlight led her back the way they came, and started down a slope in the opposite direction of camp. At the bottom of the hill, Yellowpaw could see a the stream. It was broad, now, enlarged by green-leaf rains that had been pouring down on them lately. The land flattened as they came to bank.

Yellowpaw stopped just a tail-length away from the water. "May I drink?" she asked. Sunlight nodded, and she bent down and took a sip. It was much more delicious now than after some clumsy warrior had brought it all the way to camp in a wad of moss, half of it having trickled onto the ground as they carried it. It cleared her throat of prey and fur and whatever else had made its way into her mouth. It was cool and refreshing.

"Ah," she sighed contentedly. Sunlight's whiskers were twitching again. Yellowpaw gave her chest fur a self-conscious lick. "What's beyond the stream?" she asked.

"More of our territory," Sunlight answered simply, before lowering his muzzle into the water as well. Yellowpaw looked out over the marsh that followed the brook. It was drier, there, more moorland than marsh, and dotted with short, squat shrubbery. Yellowpaw saw a hair dash from under a bush and into a burrow.

"Do we hunt rabbits over there?" she asked, looked at Sunlight. The tabby tom swiped his tongue around his jaws to wipe any droplets of water that clung to his fur.

"Yes. Mice, squirrels, birds, some toads occasionally," he replied. Yellowpaw eyed to stream, cringing at the thought of swimming across.

"How do you get over the water?" she asked. Sunlight pointed further upstream.

"It's shallower up there, and we usually don't hunt there unless it gets really wet, or it's hard to find prey. We stick to marshes, not the moor," Sunlight told her. Yellowpaw nodded, glad she wouldn't have to wade into the water any time soon.

The sun had disappeared over the horizon, turning the sky pale purple and silver in the twilight. The very first stars glimmered far overhead.

"It's time we get back to camp," Sunlight announced. Yellowpaw scowled.

"But I thought ShadowClan did night patrols! And that we hunted best at night!" she objected. Sunlight's whiskers twitched, _again_.

"Yes, but this is your first night as an apprentice. And you woke up at dawn. You're exhausted," Sunlight said. Yellowpaw was about to protest, but she felt her eyes beginning to droop, and gave a wide yawn before she could stop herself. Sunlight smiled, and Yellowpaw glared at him playfully.

Sunlight turned and led the way back to camp. Yellowpaw's feet ached by the time she got there, and she could barely stay awake. She trudged into the apprentice's den.

"I made you and Nutpaw a nest," Rowanpaw whispered. Yellowpaw nodded in gratitude, and slunk over to where Hollypaw had said the nests were. But she stopped when she noticed two amber eyes glowing dimly.

_Raggedpaw! _Yellowpaw thought. _The nests are right beside him! _She began to drag the moss and bracken away, until she was on the opposite side of Rowanpaw, and sat down in the messy, scattered bedding. Nutpaw came in seconds late, and scooted his nest over as well, to be closer to her.

"How was your day?" he asked quietly.

"Good," Yellowpaw muttered. "Sunlight took me all over the territory. He showed the marshes, the pine forest, the stream, and the moorland. What did you do?"

"Morningpelt had me caring for the elders all afternoon. She thought I couldn't handle going out of camp!" he spat bitterly. "But it was mildly fun. Hollypaw helped me, and Littlebird told me a story about the Great Clans."

Yellowpaw nodded sleepily, yawning again. She wished Morningpelt hadn't made Nutpaw feel so bad, but she knew that he probably wouldn't have gotten far outside of camp.

_I sure hope he gets better, _she thought. Before she drifted off to sleep, she spotted the two amber eyes glaring at her from behind Rowanpaw.

_Let him glare, _Yellowpaw snarled to herself. _It won't do anything!_


	4. Chapter Five

**Sooooo... uh, I meant to finish this before actual _Yellowfang's Secret _by the actaul Erins was written, but I stopped writing for a while, and now it's out. This story is not very good, and I'm sure that the real copy of this story is the best book ever, so I'm thinking about deleting it. It's not very popular, I realize, so it wouldn't really matter.**

**If I get one review within the next two weeks stating that the reader wishes for me to continue this story, and not delete it, then I'll continue it. If I don't get any reviews, I'll shrug and hit the delete button. I'm not very proud of this story, though I love the ideas given to me by Erin Hunter, so it doesn't really matter to me. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me in the brief time that this story has been up, and a Raggedstar plushie to you all!**

**Sorry that this chapter is short, it doesn't have a lot of stuff in it.**

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Nutpaw crouched down low, following the instructions Morningpelt had given them. This was his first battle training session, and Yellowpaw's second.

She hoped Morningpelt would be more encouraging to her brother. All he needed was a little pride in himself. But the young gray tabby she-cat seemed displeased with everything the pale brown tom did.

He was learning how to leap on your enemy, probably the most basic skill there was. He crouched, hesitating, and Morningpelt hissed in his face, "Don't just stand there! In a real battle, you'd be crowfood by now!"

Raggedpaw was Nutpaw's opponent. He was about three times the size of Nutpaw, as big as any warrior, and one of the best fighter's in the clan, according to Brackenfoot. It was quite an unfair match.

Nutpaw bared his teeth, and launched himself into the sky with as much power as his weak legs could muster. Raggedpaw swung to the side effortlessly, and Nutpaw landed flat on his belly with a sickening _oof_, his legs splayed out on either side of him.

Yellowpaw rushed to help her brother,and nudged him up with her muzzle. "I think you've had enough for one day," she mewed, brushing dust off of Nutpaw's pale brown chest. Nutpaw let out an angry growl.

"No! I need to try again until I do it right!" he spat. Yellowpaw stroked his flank, and pressed her muzzle into the little tom's fur. She was taller than him, and heavier-set. He appeared to be younger than you by at least a moon, but they were from the same litter.

Morningpelt stepped in between them. "I agree with Yellowpaw, Nutpaw. We should get you back, and make sure you don't have any scrapes," she mewed, nudging Nutpaw along.

The little apprentice struggled and protested, but a sharp word from Brackenfoot silenced him. He trudged away, head hung and tail dragging. Yellowpaw's eyes followed him solemnly until his pale coat disappeared out of sight. As soon as he was out of earshot, Yellowpaw whipped around and flung herself at Raggedpaw.

The dark brown tabby pushed her off and shook out his pelt, glaring at her. "What was that for?" he demanded, hackles risen. Yellowpaw bowled into him again, battering him with her front paws.

"How dare you be so hard on him?! He's too weak!" she snarled, hitting him with all her might. Raggedpaw shoved her away from him, back arched.

"It was the _easiest move_! What was I supposed to do? Just stand there?!" Raggedpaw growled. Yellowpaw let out a furious roar, and unsheathed her claws, lunging at the dark brown tabby and landing scare on his shoulders. Raggedpaw yowled, and rolled over, but Yellowpaw moved before he could crush her underneath his overlarge mass.

"You could've hurt him, you fox-heart!" she spat, breaths coming out in heaves. Raggedpaw plopped down casually, smoothed his fur with his tongue.

"Well, Yellow_kit, _he'll never learn anything if you keep coddling him like a newborn," he drawled, a devious grin moving across his lips. Yellowpaw hissed, digging her claws into the mud beneath her claws and carving deep ruts in the earth. She tensed her back legs to spring again.

"That's enough!" Brackenfoot yowled. Yellowpaw and Raggedpaw both sank down at his disapproval. The ginger tom turned to Yellowpaw. "Raggedpaw didn't do anything wrong. He followed my instructions, and nothing else. You had no right to be angry at him, and you are never _ever _to attack a clanmate like that again, do you hear me, Yellowpaw?"

"You always take _his _side," Yellowpaw grumbled. She could feel Raggedpaw smiling smugly behind her.

"Both of you are going home _right now_. Cedarstar will decide your punishment," Brackenfoot mewed. Yellowpaw groaned. She was definitely on Cedarstar's bad side now. And it was all Raggedpaw's fault! If only he wasn't such a know-it-all and a show-off, none of this would have ever happened.

She stomped home, making sure to kick up as much dust into Raggedpaw's face a possible. This day was just going great.

The entered the cool darkness of Cedarstar's den, and listened to Brackenfoot's account of the argument. Yellowpaw wanted to butt in with a comment several times, but was silenced with meaningful glares from her father. Raggedpaw sat through the conversation like a little quiet angel.

Cedarstar was not pleased. "You two are constantly quarreling, and it needs to stop," he mewed in his deep, gruff voice. "You both must learn that the clan is a family, and that me must not fight amongst ourselves. You will take care of the elders for the next quarter moon _together_, and use the partnership to your advantage. If anyone spots you fighting, your punishment will be lengthened."

Yellowpaw let out a furious snarl on the inside, but simply dipped her head on the outside. Raggedpaw did the same, though no doubt he was seething.

"Good," Cedarstar concluded. "You are dismissed."

The trio of cats left the leader's den, two of them ready to rip out the other's throat. Yellowpaw opened her mouth to spit an insult at Raggedpaw, but Brackenfoot jabbed his paw into her side.

"Ow!" she yowled, and ran her tongue over her rib. "What was that for?" she hissed, glaring at her father. He was constantly picking on her, his daughter, and worshiping Raggedpaw, the son of a kittypet! Her resentment was threatening to boil over.

Brackenfoot's amber gaze burned into bother of the apprentices. "I can't believe how bad both of your temper's have gotten. Like Cedarstar said, this has to stop. He's named the punishment, so don't try to get a bigger one, Yellowpaw. Cooperate with each other for once, and this whole thing will be over."

Yellowpaw realized her was right. The more they argued, the more time they would have to spend working together. _Ugh, this is torture. A whole quarter moon? No one could stand that long working with _him_! _she thought regretfully. Unfortunately, there was no getting out of it whatsoever. She was stuck, stuck in the most miserable situation possible to be stuck in.

"Now," Brackenfoot said, clearing his throat and lowering his voice. "You'll be in charge of all of the care of the elders, which means you'll need to check for ticks, fetch fresh bedding, and hunt for them. You won't have to hunt all the prey that they eat, but their sole meals will be on your shoulders, and you know how irritable elders get."

Yellowpaw groaned. Her life was ruined. Or at least, this next quarter moon of her life. What was she going to do? Or, more practically, how was she going to _survive_?

"You should go and ask the elders what they need the most at the moment, food, moss, water, and you get it for them," he instructed, and gave both of them a nudge toward the den underneath the honeysuckle, the fowl stench of mouse-bile already touching the scent glands at the roofs of their mouths haughtily.

Yellowpaw sighed, and padded with dragging paws to her quarter-moon-long doom, her shoulders slumped and her tail drooping.


	5. Chapter Six

**A rather short, sloppy chapter if you ask me. But it's gradually moving this story along. So, I decided to continue my story, thanks to the many wonderful reviewers I got on the last chapter. (I love you guys!) I still haven't read the actual _Yellowfang's Secret_, 'cause I wanna come up with my own plot and stuff for this story, and not copy the Erin Hunters.**

**Again, thank you to all of the those who reviewed! You make it all awesome! Raggedpaw plushies to all of you readers!**

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"Imprudent apprentice! You don't know how to check for ticks, do you?"

"Yes I do! I-"

"Let me tell you how it's done properly! You have to..."

Lizardfang drawled on with his incredibly boring lecture on how to check for and apply mouse bile to ticks. Yellowpaw began considering strangling herself, and it was only the second day of the seven-day punishment that she was going through because of one very annoying, stuck-up, know-it-all individual.

The one and only, Raggedpaw.

Yellowpaw finished checking Lizardfang for ticks, and then practically sprinted out of the smelly elder's den. She nearly crashed into her handsome mentor, Sunlight.

"Hiya, Yellowpaw," the golden tom mewed with a hearty laugh. Whenever Yellowpaw saw her mentor, her face usually assumed an unfocused, contented expression, and she found herself constantly stumbling over her words while talking with him.

"Hmm? Oh-oh, yes, um... Hello, Sunlight," she stuttered, trying to regain her composure unsuccessfully. She cleared her throat. "What can I do for you?"

Sunlight laughed again. "Have fun doing your shift?" Yellowpaw felt her ear-tips grow hot. "It looks like those elders are driving you nuts!" Yellowpaw grinned at him, a flirty hint glistening in her orange eyes.

"You betcha! Ugh, I don't know if I'll make it through the next quarter-moon alive. What with the amazing Raggedpaw pushing every little thing into my face, and all this stinky bedding ruining my fur, I'm stumped in a very uncomfortable position," she explained, pessimism overriding her mood.

Sunlight offered her a soft, comforting nuzzle, making Yellowpaw's skin sizzle. "Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it, Yellowpaw!" he reassured her. Ironically, Yellowpaw was not feeling particularly reassured as Raggedpaw waltzed into camp, his jaws weighed down by a mighty haul.

He heaped the majority of it atop the fresh-kill pile, swelling it to twice its former size. But he ceased the biggest of his catch, a monstrous moor hare, and paraded haughtily into the elder's den.

It was too big even for all four of the elders to eat, but Raggedpaw made sure that Yellowpaw witnessed how perfectly amazing he was doing his part. From the distance that Yellowpaw and Sunlight stood, they could hear the elders praising the dark tabby apprentice.

"Why, I never did see quite so big a rabbit as that, Raggedpaw! That's some mighty-fine game you got there."

"It's almost as big as I am! We'll never eat it all! Thank you so much Raggedpaw!"

"You are one of the most skilled apprentices I have ever seen, Raggedpaw!"

Yellowpaw ground her teeth together. Even the _elders _were won over by Raggedpaw's snobby charm. She waited to hear one of the elders cackle, _We are not worthy, your amazing-ness!_

She brought out of her fantasy by her irritated mentor. "Yellowpaw! Yellowpaw! Quit mooning and listen," Sunlight commanded. Yellowpaw shook her head and cleared her throat to show that he had her attention. "Good, now as I was saying, I know that you are mad at Raggedpaw, so I arranged for to channel some of that anger through battle training."

Yellowpaw's eyes glimmered mischeiviously. "I am fond of that idea," she chuckled, imagining planting Raggedpaw face-first into the mud.

Sunlight looked at her sternly. "Yes, but remember to keep your claws sheathed. You could get in trouble if you push it," he reminded her. Yellowpaw nodded, scowling sourly. But she allowed her fancies to carry on imagining the act of ripping out Raggedpaw's whiskers.

The two waited until Raggedpaw sashayed out of the elder's den, his stuck-up grin casually kindling the flame of the Yellowpaw's exasperation, and then promptly departed, an apprentice on either side of Sunlight as to avoid the two quarreling.

When they reached the training clearing, Yellowpaw immediately readied her body in attack position, her tail waving in the air tauntingly. Raggedpaw imitated her form on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Now," Sunlight began instructing. "Yellowpaw, you focus on speed, Raggedpaw, strength. Each of you use the other's strengths against them."

Raggedpaw narrowed his eyes. "Ready to go, Yellowkit?" he snickered. Yellowpaw pinned her ear down back on her head, and bared her teeth menacingly.

"I was born ready, dog-breath!" she snarled back.

Sunlight took his seat at the edge of the clearing where he had a good view to survey both of the apprentices, and with a flick of his ear, bellowed, "Go!"

Both the gray she-cat and the tabby tom launched themselves forward, and the two met in the middle, moving at lightning speed around each other. Yellowpaw leaped over the bigger apprentice and whipped around, catching him with her paw of the hind leg and failing at an attempt to unbalance him.

Raggedpaw kept up with her pace and turned her face her, trying to flip her onto her back and pin her down, but she turned and he pushed her onto her side, where she rolled under him and onto her feet once more. Yellowpaw then darted beneath him and pushed upward with all her might, causing both of them to leap toward the sky.

Stunned, Raggedpaw landed with his legs splayed out around him, and Yellowpaw landed on his shoulders. Before she could get a grip, he used the same tactic that she had used, making her land on her back, and Raggedpaw with a fleeting jump, he pinned her down.

"Marvelous job!" Sunlight praised, smiling. "You both performed well," he said, gazing warmly at Yellowpaw.

Raggedpaw let her up and she trotted over dreamily to her mentor. "Did I really do good?" she asked in a soft voice. Sunlight nodded, and nuzzled her quickly behind the ear. Yellowpaw's heart fluttered. Raggedpaw glared at the two of them.

Brackenfoot padded into the clearing. "May I have with you in private real quick?" he asked, his question directed at Sunlight. The golden tom turned and nodded to him, and then diverted his gaze to the two apprentices.

"I'll be right back!" he said. "Stay put, and _no fighting_!" he said firmly, and then disappeared after Brackenfoot behind the bushes.

The training the clearing was left in silence. Yellowpaw stared in the direction Sunlight had left, feeling warm all over.

"You like him, don't you?" Raggedpaw's abrupt question broke Yellowpaw's train of thought. She turned to him, her eyes widened questioningly.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You just love Sunlight, don't you, Yellowkit?" he mewed, his eyes burning accusingly into her ruffled gray pelt. Yellowpaw's orange eyes shrank into slits, and her hackles rose slightly.

"I do not!" she said defensively. "And what's it to you who I love?" she spat. Raggedpaw didn't say anything, but just continued to glare at her angrily.

The next few agonizing moments passed as they each were a season in itself. But at last, Sunlight revealed himself, his eyes wide with alarm. Yellowpaw looked at him, cocking her head in curiosity.

"What's the matter, Sunlight?" she asked. The golden tom just shook his head mutely. Raggedpaw opened his mouth as if he were going to ask a question, but closed it once more. Sunlight led the two apprentices out of the training clearing at back to camp, and told them to return to their previous business, all the time emanating a disturbed air.

Raggedpaw and Yellowpaw looked at each other, both of their minds whirling with confusion and question. "Something's got all up into Sunlight's fancy fur, eh, Yellowkit?" Raggedpaw said after a few minutes.

Yellowpaw didn't ever bother to make a sharp retort. She just rolled her eyes and trudged away. Back in the faint light of the apprentices' den, Rowanpaw smiled at her, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What?" Yellowpaw asked irritably, settling down in her nest. Rowanpaw just giggled and went on beaming at her like a mouse-brain, so Yellowpaw decided to ignore her and just explain the odd situation.

"Well, Sunlight left to talk with Brackenfoot, and then came back a few minutes later looking like he had seen a ghost. So then we just walked home and he told us to do our own thing. It made no sense," she said, shaking her head and musing about the possibilities of Sunlight's discomfort.

Rowanpaw chimed a laugh again. "So, when Sunlight left, you and Raggedpaw were alone in the clearing?" she asked. Yellowpaw looked at her sideways, and nodded.

Rowanpaw grinned, her eyes narrowing playfully. "Oooh, _love _is in the air!" she sang, doing a silly dance. Yellowpaw shot up to her paws, shocked and enraged.

"_What?!_" she yowled. "Raggedpaw and I hate each other! Are you a mouse-brain!"

"Oh, Yellowpaw," Rowanpaw cooed, as if Yellowpaw was an ignorant kit. " You are so clueless. He obviously has a crush on you," she said, stretching out her foreleg to give her paw a lick.

Yellowpaw shook her head vigoriously. "Uh, no he doesn't! He would do anything to embarrass me or make fun of me!" she told her sister.

Rowanpaw rolled her eyes, a gesture similar to the one Yellowpaw had just done to Raggedpaw. "Ugh, whatever you say, Yellowpaw." The ginger she-cat rested her chin on her paws. "I wish Raggedpaw had a crush on me. He's so handsome."

Yellowpaw pondered what her sister had told her. Could Raggedpaw possibly have a crush on her? No way, never in a million seasons. _Rowanpaw is just a crazy mouse-brain, _she thought to herself.


End file.
